March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. 171 



bird, which was still in the opening, and said: "Thank you that you 

 have pitied us, thank you that you have brought us something to 

 eat again. On your account we live here now. Through you we 

 can satisfy our hunger. We are very happy over it. You must not 

 leave us now." The bird answered: "Yes, I have pity on you and 

 for that reason I have come again. I shall now live close by here, at 

 T6wanashabe. " 



The children then asked the bird to hunt for their parents, and 

 so the bird flew away to hunt for them. Flying over the fields west 

 of Orafbi it proceeded towards the north, and at a place called T6ho 

 (from a black shale or paint gotten from there by the Hopi to this 

 day), it found the father and the mother of these children. They 

 were living upon some cactus that was growing there, but were very 

 much emaciated. When the Humming-bird flew by them the man 

 said : " Something is passing by here, " but looking around they could 

 not see anything, so the bird came back and was then detected by the 

 man and his wife. The man at once went towards the bird, saying: 

 "Who are you, flying about here?" The bird stopped in its flight, 

 though keeping its wings in motion and " listened to what the man 

 had to say. He asked the little bird to pity them and procure them 

 some food. There was no living being in that part of the country at 

 that time, and so from the fact that this bird was flying about there 

 the people concluded that it must know some place where it found 

 something to eat. The bird did not answer anything, but flew 

 away. Arriving at the opening in the children's house, the boy 

 asked: "Did you find our parents?" "Yes," the Humming-bird 

 answered, "away up north I found them." "Both of them?" the 

 children asked. "Yes, both of them," the bird replied; "but alas, 

 they have very little to eat. They are hungry and they are very 

 much emaciated. " 



The children then begged the bird to bring them something to 

 eat, whereupon it flew away. Mtiyingwa had in the meanwhile con- 

 cluded to go up into the world and look after things there. He first 

 ascended to the first kiva above him, where he stayed four days. Dur- 

 ing this time it rained a little about Oraibi. After four days he 

 ascended into the next kiva above him when it rained again on the 

 earth. He then ascended into the third kiva, whereupon it rained 

 considerably in and around Oraibi, and when he after four more days 

 emerged from the last kiva he found that the grasses and herbs were 

 growing nicely. 



The parents of the children had seen from the distance the clouds 

 and rain about Oraibi, and concluded to return to the village, not 



